How to access your credit report online

Credit reports are used by businesses - most often, financial product and utilities providers - to check the identity and history of a consumer they're considering entering into a contract with.

When that consumer is you, it can feel a bit like giving someone permission to read your diary. Actually worse, because you're not sure what it says.

That needn't be the case, though.

Credit reports from the three big agencies - Equifax, Experian and Callcredit - can be accessed quickly and easily online and by post.

Why get a credit report?

Taking a look at your credit report can be extremely useful: as well as relieving that feeling of ickiness you'll be able to see what type of information lenders are considering and, crucially, whether that information is correct.

However, it's worth noting that credit files are just one of a number of things potential lenders look at when they consider an application. Checking and, potentially, correcting a file can help but it won't necessarily guarantee acceptance.

It can sometimes though help to improve your chances and it can be especially useful for people who have been turned down for credit, or for people who are trying to repair their credit rating.

What's in a credit report?

Credit reports deal in the following personal information:

• Addresses: from the electoral roll.
• County Court Judgments (CCJs) and bankruptcies: from court records.
• Debts and contracts: from providers and including the dates and length of the relationship, the credit limit and the history of repayment, including any missed payments.
• File searches: when other lenders have searched the file this will be noted. Consumers own checks, however, will not.
• Linked data: when consumers have a financial association with another person we say that they're linked and, therefore that other person's record will be taken into account.
• Record of fraud: to protect victims of application fraud by pointing out that some records were not the consumer's fault and to highlight applicants who have committed financial fraud in the past.

Which report?

In theory, all the credit reference agencies should hold broadly the same information.

However, since consumers need to check reports for errors it can help to know which reference agency a lender will be looking at before applying.

Unfortunately, providers don't exactly shout the agencies they use from the rooftops.

However, we can say that Equifax is the most commonly used reference agency. Even when other agency's files are routinely used for application checks it will generally be in conjunction with an Equifax file.

Experian seems to be the second most widely used by financial providers and Callcredit is held to be, by some distance, the least widely used.

Access your credit report: £2 statutory

Under the Consumer Credit Act, people are entitled by law to see their own credit files.

This £2 report is a 'snapshot' of credit history on the day it's applied and paid for but lists all of the elements above, most of which shouldn't change that often.

Once the consumer has applied for a statutory report they must receive it within 7 days. Two agencies also provide an online viewing option but that will require extra information to allow them to confirm identity instantly.

Here are the links to apply for statutory reports:

• Equifax
• Experian
• CallCredit

Access your credit report: free trial or pay monthly

Another way to go is longer-term access to credit reports.

The advantage of paying a monthly fee is being able to see changes to the report in real-time and keep tabs without having to apply for multiple statutory snapshots.

Monthly accounts also often come with credit report alerts - a notification of any change or search as soon as it occurs, which can help to prevent and reduce ID theft.

It's also a method for dodging any fee at all: both of the biggest providers offer 30-day trial options: cancel before that month is up and you've got a full credit report without paying a penny.

Free trial warning

As with most free trials, however, free credit reports can turn into paid ones for those that forget to cancel since users have to enter a credit or debit card to sign up.

That's why we've included full details on how to cancel, alongside more general information on paying for credit reports, below.

	Equifax	Experian	Callcredit
Free Access	30-day free trial Cancel by phoning 0844 335 0550	30-day free trial Cancel by phoning 0800 561 0083	No service currently available. Free reports through Noddle to be launched soon.
Subscription after free trial	£6.99 per month	£14.99 per month	n/a
Standard credit report option	Credit watch fr £3.99 a month	n/a	n/a
Website	Equifax.co.uk	CreditExpert.co.uk	MyCallCredit.com
Address	Equifax Credit File Advice Centre P.O. Box 1140, Bradford BD1 5US	Customer Support Centre PO Box 1136, Warrington, WA4 9GQ	Customer Care MyCallCredit P.O. BOX 491 Leeds LS3 1WZ
Phone Number	0800 783 9421	0800 656 9000 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm)	01132 441 555

As we note above, Callcredit don't currently have a pay monthly option.

However, when it arrives, we hope their new Noddle service will have been worth holding out for.

Noddle is promising full, free credit reports for life, supporting that generosity by advertising financial services to its customers.

Another free option: Capital One

Finally, Capital One offer free access to Equifax reports for some cardholders.

The service is only available to new Capital One World MasterCard credit card* holders and other Capital One credit cards issued before July 2011.

Capital One are offering their customers a free 'Identity Alert Service' which includes free automatic alerts by e-mail for fraud - when someone applies for credit in the cardholder's name - or if there are any changes to the credit report.

Cardholders also receive two completely free Equifax credit reports each year.

*Click through for cost of credit.

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